


Prompt: Burns- Keith (Voltron)

by AnaliseGrey



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [12]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Burns, Captivity, Gen, Heat Torture, it got really freaking hot here today, so somebody had to suffer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-06-01 01:08:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15131747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnaliseGrey/pseuds/AnaliseGrey
Summary: From my Bad Things Happen Bingo cardShygeek1999 on tumblr asked: “I just wanted to say I love your work! It’s amazing. Also for your “Bad things happen” bingo can you write Keith from Voltron with burns if it’s not already taken? Thank you so much!!”Aaaah! Thanks! Hope you enjoy!





	Prompt: Burns- Keith (Voltron)

Keith grew up in a desert.

He’d spent some time away from it, in the foster homes, then at the Garrison, but he’d returned back to the shack in the desert when he had a choice. The heat had never especially bothered him, it was just one more obstacle to overcome. As long as he respected it, made sure to hydrate, and didn’t do anything stupid, he was fine.

So when he’s captured on a desert planet while on a Blade mission, he’s concerned, but not any more than he’d have been anywhere else.

They relieve him of his weapons, and he fights harder when they take his knife. All it gets him is a split lip for his trouble.

“Take him to one of the boxes, maybe it’ll take some of the fight out of him.”

The guards who are holding him drag him out, and he realizes they’re not going toward the regular cell block, but outside. In the late afternoon sun he can see a series of structures that look like some sheds he’s seen on Earth, small square structures that glint dully in the light. They approach one, and one of the guards opens it, and he’s unceremoniously shoved in, the door closing and locking behind him as he stumbles down to his hands and knees. There are no windows, and the only light comes from the sliver of fading sun that creeps in under the door. The heat is oppressive inside, sweat immediately starting to drip down his face, but he gets himself up from where he landed on the floor and goes back to the door, checking to see if there’s any way to open it from the inside. There’s no handle, and the hinges are on the outside. He tries ramming it with his shoulder, but the door is sturdy, and he ends up with an aching shoulder rather than progress. He’s hot, and tired, and sore, and it looks like he’s not going anywhere just yet. He reaches out and finds one of the far walls, leans against it, trying to ignore the heat he can feel seeping through the fabric of his suit, and closes his eyes to rest.

He doesn’t know how long he’s been asleep when he wakes up from restless dreams, his throat and lips dry, his head aching. He glances toward the door, and the light from underneath is brighter than it was, indicating sunrise or a little after. He can feel the heat pressing in around him, and he doesn’t know if it’s his imagination or not that it feels hotter than it did last night.

As time passes, he realizes he isn’t imagining it; the structure- box they’d called it- is definitely getting hotter. It’s still dark, the light from under the door doesn’t reach more than an inch or two inside, but it does nothing to dissipate the heat that’s building. He goes back to lean on the wall after a while, his head starting to swim, and immediately jerks back with a cry of pain. The wall is scalding hot, even through his suit, and his shoulder burns angrily where he’d leaned up against it, even though it was only for a second. He shuffles back toward the center of the floor as his shoulder throbs. Ok then. No touching the walls during the daytime. He doesn’t start to really worry though until he realizes the floor is also heating up, hotter than it was when he was tossed in here. He desperately wants to at least take his gloves off, but he doesn’t dare; he needs to be sure his hands can hold a weapon should he get a chance to run, and if they’re burned, that will jeopardize things.

As the day wears on, the heat only builds, and his worry grows. There’s been no indication they’re going to let him out, no food or water brought to him, and now the floor is becoming uncomfortably hot. He tries standing for a short time, since the soles of his boots are thicker than his suit and more heat-resistant, but it’s not long before he has to sit again, dizzy and nauseous in the heat.

He doesn’t want to beg them for anything, but he also wants to live. He supposes he’ll have to wait and see which side of him is more stubborn.

He can feel it when the floor starts to burn him through the suit, but there isn’t anything he can do about it; there’s nowhere to go, no way to get away from it.The walls are hotter, and he tries moving toward the door to see if there’s a breeze coming from under the door. There are small bursts of air, but they’re also hot, dry, and he has to move back; it’s only making him thirstier.

He ends up laying down on the floor, trying to ignore the parts of him that are in contact with the hot surface, and he has the realization that if they don’t let him out, he’s going to die this way. He has his head cushioned on his right arm; where it touches the floor is a wash of fiery pain, but he knows that’s better than what would happen if his unprotected face came in contact with the floor. He tries to go away in his head, to not think about how much he burns, how much he needs water, how ungodly hot it is. 

There’s a noise from outside, and he thinks he’s hallucinating. Then the sound comes again, and- no. That can’t be right. There’s no reason for Lance to be anywhere near here. But he can’t deny that it  _ really  _ sounds like Lance’s bayard.

There’s a shout, and a loud thud against the outside of his box; he jumps in surprise, gritting his teeth against the pain from his burns pulling.

There’s another muffled noise, and then the door is opening, and silhouetted against the light from outside is Lance, and what the  _ hell _ ?

“Oh quiznack,  _ Keith _ .” Lance makes to rush inside, and stops abruptly when he crosses the threshold. Keith wonders what it is and then realizes it’s the heat that’s stopped him. Lance’s face turns grim with determination and he presses on, reaching down to help Keith up. Keith bites down a whimper when Lance inadvertently grabs him some of the places he’s burned, but getting out is more important right now than telling him to be careful.

They make it outside, and Keith sags against Lance in relief. It’s still hot outside, he knows it is, but compared to where he’s spent the day, it feels amazing. He looks over, and can see one of the guards from the previous day slumped against the side of his box.

“How-” Keith turns back towards Lance, tries to clear his throat, but it’s so dry he starts coughing. Lance carefully sets him down and reaches toward his belt, pulling out the small emergency water ration stored there, and holds it up to Keith’s lips. Keith sips at it, and it’s an act of will that keeps him from guzzling it; he knows it would only make him sick. He tries again. “How are you here?” His voice is still rough, but it’s better.

“The Blades called us, said something had happened. They couldn’t come, but we were near enough we could.” Lance brushes Keith’s bangs back from his face, his own face pinching with worry. “How long were you in there?”

Keith blinks hazily up at him. “Since last night, I think.”

Lance mutters a curse under his breath. “Yeah, you don’t look so great. Do you have any injuries we should know about?” He eyes Keith’s split lip. “Well, any  _ other  _ injuries.”

“Burns, but I don’t know how bad. The walls and floor got pretty hot.”

An expression flits across Lance’s face, and it takes Keith a moment to realize Lance looks  _ furious _ , and he doesn’t think he’s ever seen Lance look that angry before. Lance takes a deep breath, lets it out, and Keith recognizes the action; he’s done the same thing.

“We need to get you up and to Red so we can get you back to the Castle for treatment. The others are nearby, I’ll let them know I’ve got you.” Lance steps away to contact the others over comms and Keith closes his eyes, enjoying the play of fresh air over his face.

“Alright, they’re finishing up and will meet us back at the Castle. Red’s not far from here, and I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to see you.” Lance crouches down and gets Keith’s arm up over his shoulders, helping him stand; he murmurs an apology when Keith gasps in pain. “Sorry, I know it hurts, burns are the worst. But we’ll get you fixed up right away.”

“Thanks for coming for me.”

Lance glances over at him as they walk, smiling for the first time since he got Keith out. “Any time.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Feel like asking me anything? Sending me a prompt? Wanna just flail at me, send headcanons or just say hi? Come talk to me on tumblr at [Analisegrey](http://analisegrey.tumblr.com/)!


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